Means for controlling the fibers in a strand of a textile drafting apparatus



Aug. 25, 1 4 RQRULON-MILLER ETAL 31 MEANS FOR CONTRO NG THE T ERS IN ASTRAND OF A TEXT DRAFTI APPARATUS Filed Oct. 17. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS ROBERT RULON-MILLER F G 2 NARNER H. TABOR ATTORNEYS,

Aug. 25, 1964 R. RULON-MILLER ETAL 3,145,431

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FIBERS IN A STRAND OF A TEXTILE DRAFTINGAPPARATUS Filed Oct. 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 as I 37 INVENTOR.

ROBERT RULON-MILLER I WARNER H. TABOR i F l G. 6 BY ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent ice MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FIBERS IN A.

STRAND BF A TEXTILE DRAFTING ARPARATUS Robert Raina-Miller and Warner H.Tabor, Bristol, R.I., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Dixie Machine& Tool Company, Greensboro, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina FiledOct. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 63,039 4 Claims. (61. 19 -247) This inventionrelates to a drafting apparatus such as is used for drawing a textilestrand.

In a textile drawing apparatus, as a strand is attenuated, fibers of thestrand tend to extend outwardly from the axis of the strand rather thanextending along the axis of the strand and it is desirable to maintainthese fibers in the strand extending along its axis and to control themin this position as the strand is attenuated between the back and thefront rolls.

In order to control the fibers of a strand aprons are sometimes usedpresenting a straight run so that the strand extends between two apronsand is engaged for a longer extent of its travel between the back andfront pairs of rolls. However, it is known that at times such beltsdrive ahead and separate so that the belt is spaced from and does notengage the strand between the belts as is desired.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an arrangement whichwill prevent buckling of a stretch of belt which is intended to engagethe strand throughout its straight stretch.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rigid support for thestrand to slide along in order that a control may be had of its fibers.

Another object of the invention is to utilize a plate as a substitutefor one of the belts preferably the lower belt in a drafting apparatususing the belt system.

Another object of the invention is to shape the plate so as to assist inpreventing the fibers of the strand from extending outwardly.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a fragmental portion of a spinningapparatus showing the relation of the back and front pairs of rolls withthe intermediate control for the fibers between them;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the fragmental portion of the drawingapparatus showing the parts which enter into the consideration of thisinvention;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of a modified arrangement of belt andplate;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view with parts omitted; and

FIGURES 5 and 6 are sectional views of fragmental portions on a largerscale.

In proceeding with this invention we have substituted for a lower belt abracket carrying a plate which will extend along the line of travelbetween the nip of the back and nip of the front pairs of rolls in adrafting apparatus and provided a belt which will have one stretchrunning parallel to and in close adjacency to this plate so that thestrand as it passes from the back pair of rolls to the front pair ofrolls will pass between the belt and the plate and be controlledthereby. In some cases the plate may be grooved in a manner to condensethe strand as it advances therein.

With reference to the drawings 10 designates a fragmental portion of aroll stand for supporting the lower front roll 11 and the lower backroll 12 of the apparatus. The back upper roll 13 has its shaft 14bearing in cap 3,145,431 Patented Aug. 25-, 1964 bars having slots 15while each pair of front upper rolls 16 has their shaft 17 supported ina bearing in a saddle.

designated generally 18 and comprising a front part 19 in which thebearing is located and a back part 20 so as to apply pressure on therolls through a stirrup and weighting mechanism not shown. A shaft 21also supported in the roll stand extends the length of the machine orfrom roll stand to roll stand where the shafts 21 are keyed together attheir ends for driving the length of the frame.

A bracket 22 is supported on a rod 23 which forms a part of the rollstand or frame of the drafting apparatus and extends forwardly by meansof a rib-like portion 24 to be supported on the bar 25 also extendinglengthwise of the apparatus or from roll stand to roll stand. A plate 26is supported by this rib-like structure 24 and is substantially thewidth of a cot or roll. The plate is at such a height that it is in aposition to support a strand which leaves the nip of the back pair ofrolls 12 and 13 for extending to the nip of the front pair of rolls 11and 16.

A roll 27 is supported in a cap bar by means of its shaft 29 and isdriven by means of gear 31 on shaft 29 meshing with gear 30 onlower-shaft 21 which is driven from one end of the frame. Belt 32extends about this roll 27 and also about the nose bar 34 so as toprovide a stretch 33 of belt parallel to and closely adjacent the plate26 so that when a strand extends between the nip of the back pair ofrolls and the nip of the front pair of rolls, it will be engaged by thebelt and the plate so as to prevent the fraying or extending outwardlyof its fibers as it is attenuated or drawn to a smaller size.

In the showing in FIGURES 3 to 6 inclusive, the bottom plate nowdesignated as 36 is provided with a tapered groove 37 which is largestat the rear edge of the plate and of about five-eighths of an inch inwidth, While it is about one-eighth of an inch wide at the front edge ofthe plate which is its narrowest portion. This groove is arcuate inform, something after the manner shown in FIGURE 6, and this arcuateform extends throughout its length. The purpose of this tapered grooveis to receive the strand and act as a condenser for forcing the fibersof the strand toward the center of the strand so as to maintain thefibers in a more desired compact relation as the drafting takes place.

A roll 38 is provided on shaft 29 which is of a much narrower width thanthe roll 27 shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, it being substantially one-quarterof an inch in axial dimension and substantially the same dimension asthe belt 39 which passes about this roll. The front bar 40 about whichthe belt also extends is provided with a rounded projection 41 (seeparticularly FIGURE 6) which extends forwardly as shown in FIGURE 6 andalso downwardly as at 42 as shown in FIGURE 5, and this nose portion isnarrower than the width of the belt. Thus it serves to curve the belt asthe belt moves forwardly, curving the belt downwardly into the groove 37at its forward edge and also curving the belt as it extends upwardlyaround the bar as can be seen in FIGURE 4. This belt is also curved asit extends around the roll 38 by reason of the arching of the surface ofthe roll as there seen. Thus the belt in response to the arcuate shapeof the surface of the roller and the projection 41, 42 extends into thegroove 37 so as to contact the strand as it advances along the grooveand maintains control of the fibers substantially throughout the entirelength of the belt. The drive of the belt is substantially the same asin the heretofore described showings in FIGURES 1 and 2.

We claim:

1. In a drafting apparatus for textile strands a pair of front rolls,means back of said pair of rolls for controlling a strand as itapproaches said rolls comprising a relativeiy rigid plate presenting asurface to be contacted by the textile strand, an additional rolldirectly above said plate, means for applying pressure through saidadditional roll to the strand to provide an area of nip between theadditional roll and the plate for attenuating the strand, and a beltextending about said additional roll extending toward said front rollsand means to guide said belt to present a surface of a stretch thereofparallel to and in close proximity to the surface of the plate forcontrolling fibers of the strand as it passes between the said surfaces.

2. In a drafting apparatus for textile strands, a pair of front rolls,rneans back of said pair of rolls for controlling a strand as itapproaches said rolls comprising a relatively rigid plate presenting asurface to be contacted by the textile strand said plate being providedwith a groove for receiving the strand, an additional roll above saidplate through which pressure is applied to the strand to provide an areaof nip for attenuating the strand, and a belt extending about saidadditional roll extending toward said front rolls and means to guidesaid belt to present a surface of a stretch thereof par allel to and inclose proximity to the surface of the plate, said additional roll beingarched outwardly to urge the mid portion of the belt into the groove forcontrolling fibers of the strand as it passes between the said surfaces.

3. In a drafting apparatus for textile strands a pair of front rolls,means back of said pair of rolls for controlling a strand as itapproaches said rolls comprising a relatively rigid plate presenting asurface to be directly contacted b ythe textile strand said plate beingprovided with a groove for receiving the strand, which groove is taperedwidthwise between its ends with its narrowest width at the forward endof the plate and means between the ends of the groove to urge andmaintain the strand Within said groove.

4. In a drafting apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said last meanscomprises an additional roll which is arched outwardly to urge the midportion of the strand into the groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5,434Pratt Feb. 8, 1848 1,254,391 Casablaucas Jan. 22, 1918 1,444,658 ButlerFeb. 6, 1923 1,448,191. Butler Mar. 13, 1923 1,494,991 Casablancas May20, 1924 2,231,526 Casablancas Feb. 11, 1941 2,348,202 Beswick May 9,1944 2,498,364 Fraser Feb. 21, 1950 2,595,918 Bird May 6, 1952 2,774,995Sandelin Dec. 25, 1956 2,938,241 Guimbretiere et al May 31, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 745,432 Germany Apr. 19, 1944 16,024 Great'Britain of 1892104,818 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1917 304,757 Great Britain Dec. 12, 1929336,299 1959 Switzerland Mar. 31,

1. IN A DRAFTING APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE STRANDS A PAIR OF FRONT ROLLS,MEANS BACK OF SAID PAIR OF ROLLS FOR CONTROLLING A STRAND AS ITAPPROACHES SAID ROLLS COMPRISING A RELATIVELY RIGID PLATE PRESENTING ASURFACE TO BE CONTACTED BY THE TEXTILE STRAND, AN ADDITIONAL ROLLDIRECTLY ABOVE SAID PLATE, MEANS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE THROUGH SAIDADDITIONAL ROLL TO THE STRAND TO PROVIDE AN AREA OF NIP BETWEEN THEADDITIONAL ROLL AND THE PLATE FOR ATTENUATING THE STRAND, AND A BELTEXTENDING ABOUT SAID ADDITIONAL ROLL